Fence



(No Model.)

W. F. SHELDON.

FENCE'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

wILLiAM F. sHnLDomon LYNDoNvILLE, NEW YORK.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,428, dated October 12, 1897.

' Application led July 8, 1897. Serial No. 643,881. (No model.) I

To' a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM F. SHELDON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lyndonville, in the county of Orleans and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Fence, of which the followingis aspecification.

My invention relates to fences of that class constructed solely of wire, and particularly to stays and the means for connecting the runners therewith; and the object in view is to provide a tie-Wire adapted to engage a round or similar metal stay and hold the same in operative relation with the runners by friction to avoid the necessity of notching, puncturing, or otherwise abrading the surface of the stay, whereby I am enabled to construct the stays of smooth metal rods of small diameterv or of Wire of a'gage which is little larger than that of the runners. V Y

Further objects and advantages of this invention willappear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a portion of a fence constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail view in perspective of a portion of one of the stays and the contiguous portions of attached runners. Fig. 3 is a plan View of a portion of the tiewire previous to its application to the fence. Similar numerals of reference indicate cor-l responding partsin all the figures of the drawings.

The runners l are intersected by the stays or pickets 2,which are preferably constructed of cross-sectionally round metallic rods of small diameter-as, for instance, No. 6 wiregage. The stay is secured to the runners by means of a tie-wire 3 lof smaller gage-as,. for instance, No. 12 gage-and before application to the stay and runners it is constructed, as shown in Fig. 3, to from a plurality of runner-engaging loops 4 and intermediate laterallybowed connecting portions 5, the loops corresponding in number and spacing with the runners. The tie-wire is adapted toV be bent in any suitable manner and in connection with any suitable lmeansf-as, for instance, a series of pegs 6. (Shown in Fig. 3.)

The loops 4' are preferably deflected upwardly` at their extremities, and the sides thereof contiguous to the plane of the intermediatev connections are drawn together or contiguous to each other, as shown at 4a, while the extremities of the loops are spread to provide for the introduction of the eX- tremity of a rod adapted to perform the function of a lever, as indicated in dotted lines at 7 in Fig. 2, in applying the tie to the runners and stay of a fence. The loops are wrapped respectively around the runners contiguous to the plane of stay to form coils (illustrated in Figs. l and 2) by inserting the rods in the spread portions of the loops successively and turning said rods around the runners as fulcrums, while the intermediate bowed connecting portions of the tie are similarly coiled around the portions of the staypbetween the planes of the runners, the same operating rod being adapted for use in this connection and the stay forming a fulcrum in operating the rod. The coiling of the connecting portions of the tie around the stay serves to frictionally engage the latter with sufficient intensity to bind the stay against endwise displacement, while the coiling of the loops around the runners correspondingly binds the stay against transverse displacement.

After the completion of the fence the centers of the bowed connections 5 project in looped form from the stays, while the sides of the bowed portion are coiled in opposite directions around the stay from the planesof contiguous runners inwardly toward the center of the space between said runners, and an advantage of this construction resides in the fact that expansion and contraction of the material of the staysand tie-wires, due to changes of temperature, are possible'without breakage, the coils which respectively engage the runners and the stay being capable of yielding to compensate for said changes of temperature. Furthermore, in case of extreme. looseness a tie-wire may be readily tightened by subsequent applications of the operating rod or lever to cause the tie-wire to grip the runners and stay with the desired force. Y

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction maybe IOO resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. In a fence, the combination with runners and an intersecting stay, of a continuous tiewire provided with spaced coils respectively engaging the runners, and each consisting of a looped portion of the tie-wire, and having its intermediate portions, between said coils, wrapped around the stay to forni coils which frictionally engage the stay, substantially as specified.

2. In a fenee,tl1e combination with runners and an intersecting smooth-surfaced stay, of a continuous tie-wire provided with spaced runner-engaging coils, each consisting of a looped portion of the tie-wire, and having coiled intermediate portions engaging the stay between the planes of the runners, sub stantially as specified.

3. In a fence, the combination with runners and an intersecting stay, of a continuous tie- Wire having spaced runner-engaging coils, each consisting of a looped portion of the tiewire, and having intermediate stay-engaging coils, each consisting of a bowed portion of the tie-wire connecting two contiguous runner-engaging coils, substantially as specified.

t. The herein-described tie for wire fences, the same consisting of-a continuous blank of wire provided with spaced loops and intermediate connecting bowed portions, adapted to be coiled respectively around the runners and a stay of fen ce, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM F. SIIELDON.

Vtnesses:

G. T. SToKEs, ARTHUR 1I. PHIPANY. 

